Backyard Foraged Salad Foraging was a topic my elderly neighbor who was also a retired science teacher and botanist spoke about constantly. Friends thought my brother and I were crazy when we stopped mid game (football) to pick and eat a juicy looking patch of wood sorrel we spotted on the other side of the fence. I can't remember all of the lessons she taught but I remember her passion for eating local and not overlooking the simplest of plants. It's because of her that I jumped at an opportunity to learn some foraging here in the city. I've participated in some monthly classes that have helped me and by proxy my family, become more of an adventurous eaters. Below is a picture of a salad foraged from our backyard. We paired it with our baked chicken [no pictured] and this meal was more than a hit! The greens included lambs quarters, Orach (purple mountain spinach), Plantain, Egyptian walking onions, Wood Sorrel, Flat leaf Parsley, Raspberries, and Purslane. All b
Ok, you are not seeing things...lol... there is a strawberry next to the ground cherry in this photo, but I wanted to show the size of these little delicacies also known by their scientific name (Physalis Pruinosa). The plant we are next to is stocked full of little cherries. In the next few days we should have our first real harvest (i.e. more than one lil straggler to hide from the boy I mean share with the boy). 
I am so excited about these that I have been checking the little bush twice a day. Even when I know the little man of the house will beat me to it every time. He had the first two that he described as a sweet toffee taste. I have to tell you he has developed a quick addiction to these little berries. I love fruit and I love toffee, and the thought of getting all that flavor from one small marble sized fruit is pretty enticing to me. I have heard and read that they have a pineapple, cherry, or tomato taste but never toffee. I'm thinking that the cocoa mulch I used around them has contributed something to their flavor that I am sure to enjoy. If you haven't tried this incredibly tasty fruit head to your garden center or call ahead to see if by chance there are any plants left to be picked up or ordered. It is not too late to get them started. I just planted two more last week after finding them on sale at Minnehaha Nursery here in Minneapolis.
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